..The results of these quantitative studies provide critical tests of classical models and reveal new modes of morphogen regulation and readout in one of the most extensively studied patterning systems...

..Based on these results, we propose that Cad74A is part of the adhesive machinery that enables robust dorsal appendage formation, and as such provides a link between the patterning of the follicle cells and eggshell morphogenesis...

Nuclear trapping shapes the terminal gradient in the Drosophila embryo

..Inside the syncytial embryo, nuclei play the role of traps that localize diffusible dpERK. We argue that the length scale of the terminal-patterning gradient is determined mainly by the intracellular module...

..Of particular note is the complex patterning of the region of the follicular epithelium that gives rise to the dorsal appendages, which are tubular structures that serve as respiratory organs for the developing embryo...

..Consistent with experimental observations, the Bicoid gradient in our model is established before nuclei migrate to the periphery of the embryo and remains stable during subsequent nuclear divisions...

..We conclude that a thin layer approximation is applicable for ligand trapping in epithelial layers while a typical cell culture experiment is appropriately described within an infinite layer approximation...

Homogenization of boundary conditions for surfaces with regular arrays of traps